Boston
gregladen | February 16, 2017This is not the April 22 March for Science, but something more local and timed to occur with the American Association for the Advancement of Science meetings in Boston.
From the press release:
Scientists Take to the Streets to “Stand up for Science”
Scientists and impacted communities respond to attacks by anti-science forces and climate deniers in government
BOSTON – On Sunday, February 19, scientists, science advocates, community members, and frontline communities will rally at Boston’s Copley Square to call for increased vigilance to defend science against the barrage of attacks mounted…
dr. dolittle | April 1, 2015Yesterday (Tuesday) was another great day for Comparative Physiology!
Congratulations to Dr. Arthur DeVries (above; Professor Emeritus, Department of Molecular and Integrative Physiology; Professor of Animal Biology, University of Illinois), this year's recipient of the August Krogh Distinguished lecturer award from the Comparative and Evolutionary Physiology section of the American Physiological Society. Dr. DeVries gave an excellent seminar summarizing his career studying fish that live in some of the coldest waters without freezing! The fish accomplish this amazing task by having anti-…
dr. dolittle | March 26, 2015
I am so excited about the Experimental Biology conference this year in Boston, MA! I have packed my bags, prepared my posters and am on my way to the airport. As usual there will be several seminars and poster sessions about various comparative physiology topics sponsored by the American Physiological Society that look really exciting. Can't wait!
To learn more about the meeting, visit the American Physiological Society's website dedicated to the conference.
#ExpBio
mikethemadbiologist | August 29, 2011Fortunately, Irene just ended up resembling a bad nor'easter, but without the cold temperatures (or snow). We had high winds from about 9:30 - 10:30am, and if they had become progressively worse (as was predicted), it could have been pretty ugly. Didn't turn out that way thankfully. In fact, it looks very clean out there. Still some clean up is needed:
(Exeter Street, between Boylston and Newbury)
Presumably, they're slurping stuff out, and not putting stuff in? Lots of busted up trees:
(Commonwealth Avenue)
Note the little guy in the planter. More trees destroyed:
(Commonwealth Park…
mikethemadbiologist | August 28, 2011First, on Saturday, around noon, I observed this on Commonwealth Avenue:
Because it's not like it's going to rain for the next 24 hours or anything.
Second, we are once again reminded how poorly the Boylston Street Apple store fits with the Boston environment:
Although they're protected against rocket propelled grenades too! (sorta).
Anyway, everything is still working for now (even the wireless, though I have emergency back up intertoobz too!).
mikethemadbiologist | August 27, 2011...I've got water, flashlights, batteries, and my list of who gets cannibalized first when civilization disintegrates. I'm not sure how you prep this for the hurricane though:
(corner of Berkeley and Marlborough, First Church in Boston)
And I hope these guys survive:
(Boston Public Garden)
mikethemadbiologist | August 15, 2011One of the points about science funding I've tried to make over the years (we have been blogging a long time, haven't we?) is that the overheads and indirect costs associated with federal grants drive a lot of university decisions--there's a lot of money there. But this funding also has significant macroeconomic effects, especially in research-heavy states like Massachusetts. A local paper, The Boston Courant, describes the effects of the coming NIH cuts, due to the ending of the ARRA and the coming budget cuts, to the Boston economy. I'm quoting extensively from the August 12, 2001…
mikethemadbiologist | June 29, 2011Monday, The NY Times had an interesting story about Zurich, Switzerland's intentional policy of making car-based transportation utterly miserable--and thereby convincing people to use other transit options:
While American cities are synchronizing green lights to improve traffic flow and offering apps to help drivers find parking, many European cities are doing the opposite: creating environments openly hostile to cars. The methods vary, but the mission is clear -- to make car use expensive and just plain miserable enough to tilt drivers toward more environmentally friendly modes of…
mikethemadbiologist | June 4, 2011...well, it still sucks. And JPMorgan Chase isn't helping:
The Washington State Department of Social and Health Services says it wants to know why JPMorgan Chase is charging welfare recipients 85 cents each time they withdraw money from one of its bank machines, according to Rebecca Henrie, a spokesperson with DSHS's Community Services Division.
In the first four months of 2011, Chase, one of the nation's largest banks, took in a total of $465,000 in ATM fees from some of the state's poorest people: single mothers on Temporary Assistance to Needy Families, a program that DSHS administers.…
mikethemadbiologist | June 3, 2011
If you're in Boston this weekend, you should visit the Boston Public Library's Civil War exhibits. While several exhibits will be open only during weekday business hours, the Torn in Two: The 150th Anniversary of the Civil War exhibit is fantastic. There's also a really good exhibit of Homer Winslow Civil War era prints, largely done for newspapers (9am - 5pm, Mon., Wed., and Fri.; 9am - 7pm Tues. and Thurs.).
Both are superb.
mikethemadbiologist | May 30, 2011Boston Common, Massachusetts Veterans Memorial (temporary display):
mikethemadbiologist | May 7, 2011This being Boston, we are completely cool with lesbian swans cohabitating in public. And little duckies, this is your doom:
Seriously, I'm curious if they hunt ducklings this year (and now that I have a snazzy new iPhone, I'll try to get video if they do).
mikethemadbiologist | May 1, 2011Boston, like many cities that serve as a regional cultural hub, has a lot of property owned by non-profits. And all of that property is untaxed. How much? The Back Bay Sun notes:
The exemptions began with church properties, spread to hospitals and learning institutions, then to museums.
The combined value of Boston's nonprofit properties is $13.6 billion, according to the Boston Assessing Department.
If those properties were not exempt their tax bill would be $404 million.
In lieu of tax payments have been rising as the nonprofits reluctantly come to understand that for all the advantages…
mikethemadbiologist | April 17, 2011Over the past couple of months, there has been a spate of articles celebrating cities that are getting rid of their urban highways. The Christian Science Monitor had an article discussing New Haven's urban reclamation efforts. NPR reported the following:
How did this happen? After all, this is the country that always saw roads as a sign of progress.
Now, taking down freeways has gone mainstream. Cities as diverse as New Haven, New Orleans and Seattle are either doing it or talking about it. The chief motivation seems to be money...
This is the city planner's dream: Take out an underused…
mikethemadbiologist | April 3, 2011Last evening, I was walking back to my apartment, and I was stopped by a young woman on crutches who said, "I don't mean to bother you, but do you have a moment? I'm trying to get a train from Back Bay Station."
Even if I hadn't recognized her, anyone who lives in Boston knows what comes next. "I need twelve dollars to get a train ticket. Anything you can give would help. I injured my foot three days ago, and I even showed the guy at the counter my hospital papers, but I still need twelve dollars." At which point, I responded, "I live right around the corner, and I've seen you working…
mikethemadbiologist | February 20, 2011It's called living in Boston. Unbeknownst to the Mad Biologist, we read that some mental health professionals believe 'sidewalk rage' is a psychiatric disorder:
Researchers say the concept of "sidewalk rage" is real. One scientist has even developed a Pedestrian Aggressiveness Syndrome Scale to map out how people express their fury. At its most extreme, sidewalk rage can signal a psychiatric condition known as "intermittent explosive disorder," researchers say. On Facebook, there's a group called "I Secretly Want to Punch Slow Walking People in the Back of the Head" that boasts nearly 15,000…
mikethemadbiologist | February 13, 2011No, I'm not referring to the Radical Homosexual Pirate Menance. I'm referring to Boston's ongoing fight with the galliform hordes.
Unspeakable, I tell you.
mikethemadbiologist | January 16, 2011By way of Tim Smith, we come across this description of living in Boston by novelist Dennis Lehane:
...More than one friend had suggested we move to the suburbs -- homes were cheaper, schools were safer, property taxes and car insurance premiums were lower.
[We] grew up together in the city, though. We took to picket fences and split-level ranches like we took to shag carpeting and Ultimate Fighting. Which is to say, not so much. ... I prefer subways -- you pop down the hole on one side of the city, pop back up on the other side, and you never have to hit your horn, not once. I don't like…
mikethemadbiologist | December 5, 2010I ask this because Boston's local gourmet pizza chain, Upper Crust, which is loved by foodies, has been massively exploiting its undocumented workers:
Tobins [the owner of Upper Crust] needed lots of kitchen help; the Brazilians worked hard and didn't complain about workweeks that routinely stretched to 80 hours. Marilac prospered as Upper Crust's immigrant employees sent thousands of dollars home, and the company swiftly expanded from its original store in Beacon Hill to one upscale suburb after another.
Over time, however, this amicable but unlawful relationship would unravel. Documents…
mikethemadbiologist | November 15, 2010Last night, I went to the spanking brand new Art of the Americas Wing at Boston's Museum of Fine Arts. I can't recommend it highly enough. It's a beautiful space. If you're a regular denizen of the MFA, you've probably seen some of the pieces on temporary exhibit, but it's great to see them enter permanent displays.
I'll also add that if the MFA were to stay open late Sunday evenings, that would be fantastic. It put me in a really good mood for the week.
If you're not a member, you'll have to wait until next Saturday, when it's open to the general public. If you join while at the museum…